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NEW YORK— Challenging expectations, learning how the realms of optical and vision care are being reinvented and finding a way to embrace creativity in your business were just some of the top-line messages delivered at Vision Monday’s 7th annual Global Leadership Summit here.

To a sold-out crowd of nearly 400 executives from the ECP, retail, insurance, product and lab arenas, the speakers, from outside and within the industry, took part in a day-long event at The New York Times Center which featured a wide-ranging program emphasizing creativity and invention. The business, professional and technology speakers shined the spotlight on a range of ideas, trends and developments poised to impact the optical business, embracing the 2013 program theme, “Imagination-Invention, Succeeding in a Culture of Change.”

Jobson Medical Information CEO Marc Ferrara invited the audience to “challenge the expectations that rule the day and set the boundaries of your business.” Marge Axelrad, SVP/Editorial Director of Vision Monday, added, “The goals of the Vision Monday Summit programs have evolved to look outside the traditional borders of the industry, to make decision makers aware of those developments and lines of thinking which are forcing them to find ways to compete in an era of constant change.” She added, “In addition to functioning as an unparalleled networking event, the VM Summit is designed to provide discussion, illuminate trends, and to enable you to bring back ideas and information to your companies.”

Tapping Creativity, delved into what today’s imaginists are working on to change society, commerce and invention.

The second session of the morning, which focused on the new electronic vision technology trend, which VM calls, “Eye2.” The session examined examples of new digital science including wearable technology, augmented reality and the intersection of the electronics and eyewear space.

The New Healthcare Influencers examined the major shifts in strategy and programs among some of the country’s largest health insurance players as well as how eyecare professionals might explore ways of taking part within “integrated health care models,” a new trend emerging in the post-Affordable Healthcare Act landscape.

“Omni-Channel,” which is being embraced by many businesses today, reflects the blurring of boundaries between digital and traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, influenced, too, by how mobile is transforming how consumers act and behave.

To bring together the various topics of the day, keynote speaker Robert Safian, editor and managing director of Fast Company, addressed the crowd. “I’m going to encourage you to rethink your business model,” said Safian. “It’s easy for us to resist change, and it’s harder for us to embrace it.
I encourage you to embrace it.”

The editor drew upon the eclectic approaches of Nike CEO Mark Parker, Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley, FX president John Landgraf and other notable business leaders to highlight a common thread—their status as members of ‘Generation Flux,’ referring to a diverse group of business leaders who embrace the instability of today’s business environment.

“Don’t be nostalgic for what you did before simply because it’s what you did before. Be conscious about why you’re keeping your business model,” Safian said.
■—A VM Staff Report